


At The Water's Edge

by schizoress



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Magic, Merperson Lucio, Sex Magic, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Vacation, and the other takes their sweet time letting themselves be wooed, if by slow burn you mean one trips into infatuation instantly, if you know you know, or any substantial lore to begin with, sort of ?, was gonna use the canon divergence tag but ow doesnt have a reliable canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:47:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24272305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schizoress/pseuds/schizoress
Summary: Genji gets dragged along on vacation with the others(tm)! He does not want to be here. He has been here before when he was a child. He only remembers that it is hot and that there is nothing to do but laze around. Which is the point of the vacation, not that he appreciates it. Maybe one of the locals here can help get him into the spirit of things.
Relationships: Lúcio Correia dos Santos/Genji Shimada
Comments: 5
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

“Come on, Genji.” Jesse’s tone is warm and pleading. Genji doesn’t have to look up from his phone to know that the man is putting on his best set of puppy dog eyes to try and guilt his decision.

“No. I don’t see why I have to come with you all. Can’t I just stay here and meditate?” Genji sounds exasperated, but not defeated as he tries to formulate a decent excuse to keep him from getting dragged along on this little getaway vacation his friends have sprung on him. The packed bags huddled near the entrance to their flat are being carried out one by one to the cars parked out front. He notices that one of them looks strikingly similar to his own travel duffel. When Fareeha hefts it over her shoulder along with one of her own miscellaneous bags he realizes that it _is_ his duffel.

“Wait, Fareeha wha-” She cuts him off abruptly, turning in the doorway to leer back at him, her free hand pointing rather aggressively in his general direction. “Get in the car before I pack you in the back with the luggage. You’re coming along whether you want to or not.” And she’s suddenly all smiles before turning back around, as if it was as easy as that to convince him to come along. 

To her credit, when she reenters the building he is completely dressed and ready to set out. He doesn’t look at Jesse when the man snickers at him as they follow her out to the car. He just sits and sulks in the back seat, squished between a folding beach chair and a pile of towels that he doesn't remember ever buying. Or washing. 

The drive down to the secluded little beachfront town is long, but Genji does his best to just stubbornly tune everything out until they arrive. 

When they do finally get there and unpack, instead of being left to rot in the rented room like he very much hoped he would be allowed, Genji is forced into beach wear and dragged along behind them yet again. He has to squint and shield his eyes with a hand when the sun and the sand and everything hits him all at once. It’s warm outside and Genji sort of just stands there as the others set up an umbrella and chairs and towels and whatever else they do sort of fades into the background after a while.

“I’ll be back,” He says out of nowhere, to neither of them in particular, and splits off before they can even notice he’s left. There's a boardwalk just a little further down the shore, and he steps out onto it like he has escaped to this very same place before; what seems like a lifetime ago. Something about the air out over the water is.. inviting. It's easier to breathe out here than back on the beach itself and it is peaceful; serene in a way that soothes Genji’s nerves. The gentle motion of the water below, the sound of it brushing against the pillars holding up the narrow pier convinces him to sit down and hang his legs off the edge. He finds himself unable to look anywhere but at the water below, crystal clear and speckled with sea life. 

It’s... nice, he thinks. At least until a flash of a shadow whips past his peripheral and spooks the small schools of iridescent fish. When they scatter, all he is left to admire is the way the surface of the water remains unbothered by what lay beneath. The figure kicked up enough sand in it’s arrival that Genji can’t quite tell what it was, or is, and he leans forward as the shadow settles in the water before him.

A long moment passes before the water's surface finally ripples and breaks to reveal a form so breathtakingly beautiful that all Genji can do is sit and watch, perched on the edge of the pier. The man's eyes are startlingly dark when they meet his own; something flickers through them–curiosity maybe–and in an instant they are obscured by long, fluttering lashes that draw Genji's gaze lower. The way they brush soft cheekbones that lead into a strong jaw is mesmerizing and Genji doesn’t believe he could stop staring even if he was asked.

“Hello?” A voice made of music breaks the tentative, awkward silence but Genji is immediately distracted by the flash of sharp, shark-like incisors behind full lips and another long moment passes before he can snap himself out of whatever trance he’d fallen into. 

“I... H-Hello, uh,” There isn’t really a good way to start this conversation, he realizes as the ocean laps at his toes and reminds him to wonder where this man had come from. “What— I mean, who are you?”

There’s a brief pause where the creature- _person_ in the water blinks, and then begins to shake with such a warm sort of laughter that it sends a chill through Genji; one that he can feel creep all the way up his spine before spreading goosebumps across his skin. He tries hard to focus on the tiny wakes drifting outward from the stranger's shoulders, rather than let his eyes linger on the way the water streaks careful trails down his chest.

“Lucio.” He eventually gets in response, and then, “You may know me as Lucio, if you wish. As long as you let me know you, too, stranger.” Something about the lilt in the man’s voice makes Genji flush with warmth, and he desperately hopes the rosy tint to his cheeks isn’t so sudden that he wouldn’t be able to pass it off as having been out in the sun too long. That thought gives him pause and he wonders briefly if he _has_ been out in the heat too long. He’s starting to see things because of it, right? A random, very handsome man he has never met before in this small seaside town with which he is well acquainted has just appeared before him, emerging from the depths below at the end of the pier he had just chanced to take a walk down this afternoon. 

Surely... surely Genji is ripe with heat induced visions and just needs some water and shade and—

The man in the water, _Lucio_ —he swims closer and a hand slips out of the water to brush webbed, clawed fingers over his calf. The curious flicker is back in those endlessly deep eyes and Genji sucks in a breath, trying not to jerk away from the being that suddenly seems to flood his senses with a confusing mix of warning signs and... warmth? Though that could still just be the fault of the sun blazing overhead.

The gentle touch turns to a firm grip on his leg and he starts at the tug he receives to bring him back into focus yet again. “Oh. _Oh_ , Genji.” He swallows, noticing now that Lucio’s beautiful jawline connects to a smooth neck and well made swimmers’ shoulders. “My name is Genji… it’s, ah..” The man is at a loss for words, doesn’t really know what to do anymore but is overtly aware, now, of how the distance between them has narrowed drastically in just the time it's taken him to form half a sentence. 

“What are you?” Genji is tempted to punch himself for that question, dreading the offense and posturing or, _worse_ that may be to come in response but though he steels himself to feel those claws or teeth bear down into his flesh in outrage... All he gets instead is the return of that laugh, the sound of it pooling warm and liquid into his bones. 

“Come in and find out.” Is an odd response, and Genji opens his mouth to say so but is cut off before he can make a sound. “But it is the same as before. If you are to know me,” Genji feels a hand at his other leg now as well and he swallows thickly around the sudden lump in his throat, “I am to know you just the same.”

And suddenly all is blue, water bright and rippling around his body as Lucio pulls hard enough to tug him off the edge of the pier completely and drags his body under the waves with him. Genji struggles briefly, panic stricken as he forces his eyes open to try and get a bearing on what is up and down and where the man that had so cruelly dislodged him from his seat had gone. He is glad at least for the fact that the waters are so clear near the surface, his vision only obscured when he tries to peer far below and into the distance where the seafloor drops off like an underwater cliff into the depth-less ocean beyond. It takes him only a short moment to realize that his new companion is no longer dragging him down, but when Genji shifts, treading water to adjust himself under the surface, and actually looks around he finds himself frozen in place. Drifting.

The emotion that fills his person is hard to describe. Genji knows fear, knows it better than most would be likely to believe with the way he fronts himself around others. This suffocating feeling, the overwhelming power that washes over him as he finds Lucio’s gaze again under the water is something else entirely. It’s... he’s not sure. The figure before him is not fully man, but surely something so beautiful could not merely be considered just another creature of the deep. 

Lucio’s top half is strikingly handsome, the silhouette of a well toned man who lives out his days under the sun and in the water. A true image of islander nativity if Genji had ever known there to be one. His torso is littered with patches of scales the color of seaweed; a bold green to contrast the dark tones of his skin. They collect more readily around his hips, framing the V-shaped muscle that Genji knows would make him sweat if he weren’t completely submerged right then. Below that, though, there is nothing human about Lucio. He is not even sure he could simply call it fish-like. Sure, it was a tail and as far as the lore he knew of told him, that meant that he was… half fish. Or at least born of something aquatic. 

Lucio’s tail is long and winding, though. It is an ombre of dark greens and bright yellow, accented with dangerously bright pink markings. A memory from an old marine biology book warns him: _poisonous_. There are three sets of fins that Genji can see, and guesses that mobility is their main use, but the way they catch and reflect the light under the water is too mesmerizing to not have him thinking that it’s all for show. And show Lucio does, curling around himself-around his tail and his tail around him like some incredibly unnecessarily sexy underwater pretzel.

Lucio smiles then, all smug and sharp teeth and Genji finally notices the subtle fluttering at either side of the base of his neck. Gills. _So, definitely at least sort of a fish_. He thinks before remembering. Oh. _Gills_. A unique physical feature he does not possess. Something Genji definitely envies Lucio for as he recalls that he has not had any oxygen in his lungs for far too long and begins to flail and frantically tread closer to the surface until his head breaks free of the water. He gasps, desperately gulping down air until the burning in his lungs subsides. By the time he has calmed down, so has the water around him and he notices that he is alone again. 

Exhausted and more than a little confused, Genji swims back toward the pier before hefting himself out of the water and up onto the safe, dry structure. He lays there for a while, sprawled out on his back and still coming down from the strange high that just looking at Lucio seemed to trigger within him. 

“I really am losing it, huh.” He decides aloud, to no one but himself and the clear sky above. Maybe the sun had finally gotten to him. Or maybe... maybe this vacation wouldn’t turn out as awful an idea as he first thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read this!  
> It's the first of what I don't expect to be many chapters of this little mermaid fic I've been itching to write as my contribution to MerMay!
> 
> Gencio is such a soft and easy ship to write for that I couldn't help myself. Hopefully it scratches an itch for you all as well!  
> Any comments or kudos will be the driving force to convince me to crank out the rest of the AU as soon as possible. ~


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello im back and better than ever.  
> enjoy some additional cast members and an actually beta'd chapter this time around!  
> many thanks to them, my wonderful rose ♡

Genji is the first awake on the second day, shuffling about their little rental in the early light of morning trying to figure out if there is anything to eat besides the protein prep-meals Fareeha had overpacked. There isn’t, and he heaves a dramatic sigh, leaning on the counter in the kitchen and staring at the mostly-empty fridge across from him.

The doorbell rings once, echoing soft and unimportant through the house. Then a second time, followed by a curt, methodical knock. Something about it makes the hair at the nape of his neck stand on end.

He is thinking up a good way to either convincingly pretend that no one is awake or some method of getting the visitor to leave when he hears rustling in the living area. 

“Let them in,” Fareeha’s voice is muffled slightly by the toothbrush she’d shoved in her mouth, and she’s barely got more than a sports bra and half-zipped shorts on as she gestures vaguely over at him. If he wasn’t so used to the view from living with her for so long, he might have the decency to nag at her or blush. Instead he just wrinkles his nose--a habit he refuses to admit he obtained from his brother--and drags his feet toward the door.

“Wait, _them_?” He asks over his shoulder, knowing Fareeha couldn’t hear him and wouldn’t have an answer even if she had. They had guests, plural, arriving that Genji had no idea about and... 

Wait.

“Genji.” The duo on the other side of the door greeted him in unison, eerily similar tones though he could clearly tell that Satya’s seemed far more pleasant. Behind the door are his roommates' lovely, incredibly stuffy significant others. One of which being his older brother that.. barely tolerates him. 

“Brother. Satya, welcome,” He holds the door open for the two of them, ignores the way his brother looks ten times as displeased to be here as Genji had when he was first forced along. Knows that the second Jesse sneaks out of the shower in an equal or worse state of undress as Fareeha, that Hanzo will just melt and go along with whatever plans the group has for the day.

Those plans don’t turn out to be much more involved than yesterday’s, which is to be expected, really. They catch up in the morning, Genji and Hanzo toeing the line of sibling affection for a while after the insistence--or, rather, the not-so-subtle glares from their respective roommates provide too unnerving to ignore. 

It’s nice, actually. The group fall into a pattern of casual conversation and by the time the sun is climbing to its favorite spot in the sky, more than one of their stomachs chime in to tell them that it’s time to head out for the day.

First stop is somewhere Genji drags them, in fact. A place that reminds him of a softer time, somewhere Hanzo is reluctant to step foot in but easily finds the old path walking shoulder-to-shoulder with his brother. They gesture together, toward the little hole in the wall of a cafe nestled between a rundown bait and tackle shop and what looks like a florist’s. 

“Best takoyaki you’ll ever have.” Genji insists as he pushes the door open for them, the chime of a welcome bell bleeding warmth into his person. 

They all order something different. Hanzo unsurprisingly only gets a cup of the House Brew tea but inevitably ends up picking at whatever unholy combination of items Jesse managed to convince the poor worker to smash together into something that vaguely resembled a sandwich. Satya had mochi balls that she was doing a poor job of keeping Fareeha’s hands away from; who was similarly eating sweets. Some off brand, “exotic” flavor of pocky. He chuckles at the way Satya ducks away from her girlfriend when she tries to insist they play the game and bite either end of one of the sticks.

Sugar seemed to be the ruling theme of the stop, so Genji himself ends up with a taiyaki stuffed with chocolate. Or maybe it’s nutella? He’s not entirely sure, too distracted by the fun, fishy shape the pastry has been stamped into. It reminds him of the day before, and he refuses to acknowledge the warmth that rises in his cheeks at the flashes of broad, dark shoulders that slide through his memory. He thinks of strong arms, a firm grip on his calves. The next bite tastes too sweet; it runs amok over his taste buds and his mind flashes in swirls of pink over summer-y scales. 

“Genji?”

“Huh- oh,” He blinks once, then twice before snapping out of his daze to see that all but Satya have left him now. 

“We said we’re going to head down to the beach now.” She sounds more concerned about his absentmindedness than her expression gives away. Stoic, calm and collected. No wonder Hanzo settled on having her as a roommate. Oh, the dry and unmoving silence they could hold together. They were perfect for each other.

“Yeah? Okay I’m coming, sorry,” He laughs, embarrassed, and awkwardly pries himself out of his chair to slip out the door behind her.

The group ends up in the same spot as before. Jesse and Fareeha are working together to annoy their other halves into coming out from under the shade of the tent they’d set up. Hanzo is ignoring them in favor of pretending to fall asleep. Satya has her nose buried in a book, her feet shoved into the sand as she soaks up the sun with what little skin she lets be exposed to it.

No one notices when Genji wanders off again. If they do, they don’t seem concerned enough to mention it. He’s back at the pier before he knows where his legs have led him, and he wonders if he’s being a little too hopeful. 

Maybe yesterday really was just a fever dream, but something within him pulls his body back toward the water. He decides against walking the length of the pier in favor of burying his toes in the wet sand along the shore. The water is calm and clear as ever; he can see the schools of fish have returned to milling about one another. Catching up, he likes to imagine.

He wonders if there’s a certain method to getting a siren’s attention. There has to be a call, a ritual: some sort of bait? That is, assuming the man he’d met was creature-enough to fall victim to something as simple as a shakily made lore trope.

Genji drags a hand through his hair and shifts his gaze to stare up at the sky. It’s cloudless, the sun is blazing, and he’s alone knee deep in the ocean. He sighs, defeated. At least it’s peaceful out here, away from the others. Not that his friends are the problem. It is just nice to have a moment to himself, to feel separate from the world for long enough to breathe. To not exist and be the only thing to exist all at once.

It’s relieving, refreshing even. He sways a little with the wash of the tide against his legs. Doesn’t notice when the pattern breaks and the ripples crash just a little harder against his shins.

“Genji.” The musical tone jolts him out of his thoughts immediately, and if he jumped a little too, Lucio is kind enough not to tease him about that at least.

“You came back.” Genji says dumbly, a little out of breath from trying to steady himself on his feet again. 

“Well, I _do_ live here.” Fair point. Actually, it would make more sense for the man to be shocked that _Genji_ had returned. What with the whole ‘meeting a fantasy creature for the first time’ thing. That he had the gall to come back with the hope of running into a potentially deadly creature again was... unusual, probably.

In the short breath of silence that follows, one in which Genji realizes and tries to ignore how intently Lucio is sizing him up, Genji weighs his options. Blindly trust the stranger from the sea, or turn abruptly and pretend that he was deathly sun-sick and never come out from under that tent his friends had set up until the trip was over.

Clearly, the correct choice is to slowly sink to his knees in the water with Lucio. 

“You never told me, you know.” He says, teasing and warm, eyes crinkling while the soft smile that pulls at his cheeks at the way Lucio tilts his head, lost. “What you are, I mean.”

The man laughs then, warm and rich and the sound fills Genji up from head to toe. It’s alluring, entrancing. He wonders briefly if he could be tricked to his death by Lucio’s laugh alone. He thinks dying to hear such beautiful joy would be worth it, in the end. “I’m sure you’ve figured it out for yourself, Genji. I’m a siren.” The words roll off his tongue, their content made clear by the dangerously sharp, shark-toothed grin that splits Lucio’s lips as he says them. 

“So you’re, what? Gonna drag me down and eat me one of these days?” Genji asks, perhaps a little out of line, but he doesn’t sound accusatory. Just confused, and rightfully concerned about his well being while hanging out with a magical apex predator.

The siren stares at him, considering, and then. 

“Well, if you ask nicely enough.” The sound of the water rushing between them is all the warning Genji gets before Lucio slithers into his space. That beautiful tail curls itself around him without touching, creating a smooth barrier of flesh around them that Genji does not trust himself to safely maneuver over to get away. He’s not sure that he even wants to escape, but the pink patterning warns him not to try. “You do look like you’d make quite the meal, Genji.” Lucio’s voice is back to that low, humming pitch that runs like warm molasses straight down to his bones. It locks him in place, face hot with a flush from the sudden proximity, mind running a mile a minute to keep up. Genji doesn’t know if he’s scared or horribly turned on. He thinks that he’s probably both, at this point.

“I- uh, well, I don’t-” Genji stumbles over his own words, eyes flickering between Lucio’s own, and the pretty lips hiding vicious teeth. He sucks in a breath when a finely clawed hand brushes his cheek before carefully gripping his chin. “Oh. Hey, uh. Hi, Lucio.”

“Hey, Genji.” Smug, confident.

“You’re very close suddenly.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Only if you intend to, I dunno. Eat me. Or drown me. Or both, I guess.”

There’s a certain glint in Lucio’s eyes that makes Genji’s heart skip a beat or two, thundering against his ribs. He’s still not certain if it’s in fear or anticipation. The contemplative hum that follows doesn’t make him feel any less like meat on sale at a market, though, and he has to bite his tongue to keep from saying as such.

“I definitely won’t drown you.” He sounds genuine, but Genji can’t really parse anything past the increasing closeness and the warm breath ghosting along his cheek. He is hyper aware of the fact that Lucio’s tail is also winding closer as the siren all but plants himself in Genji’s lap now. 

“What about eating?” Genji’s voice is small, nervous but not necessarily afraid. As close as they are, he can almost taste the salt imprinted into Lucio’s skin from years of ocean dwelling. He smells like the sun.

“Maybe.. I wouldn’t mind a taste, at least.” His eyes flash something dangerous, dark and heady. Genji shivers, wonders why the words don’t strike fear into him like he thinks they should. “What do you say?”

“Huh?”

“Can I taste you, Genji?” 

All he can do is swallow, his mouth suddenly dry. He nods, slowly, dangerously curious to find out what Lucio could mean, wondering if he’s truly gone crazy. There’s a flicker of a flame deep in his gut at the risk, but he can’t say no to that face, let alone the melody his request is spoken in.

Lucio’s lips are on his in a flash, gentle and questioning. He tastes like a mouthful of seawater and Genji thinks that should be a turn off. It isn’t. His breath stutters against the contact before giving in to the allure, lips parting just so that his tongue can trace the full curve of the siren’s bottom lip; tasting. There’s a noise at the back of his throat, a high keen that makes Lucio bolder.

The hand at his jaw drifts down, claws making featherlight trails that leave goosebumps to rise in their wake. Their touch is reverent, careful, and Genji can’t help but want to arch into them wherever they land. As they come to settle on either hip, he figures fair is fair and lets his own hands wander now. They start below the water, fingering the delicate fins at Lucio’s hips to draw a shaky breath between them. 

“You’re beautiful.” Genji says when they part, his hands pressed to Lucio’s abdomen, fingers splayed over the smattering of green and yellow scales. He’s too kiss-drunk to notice the red tint in Lucio’s cheeks, eyes intent on burning this figure into his memory. 

Genji’s busy admiring the subtle flutter of gills at the base of Lucio’s neck when he feels a tug at his waist. It’s soft and unassuming at first, and then he’s under the water again just like the day before. It’s less jarring than before, but he doesn’t have time to dwell on that when he feels that long, strong tail wrap itself around his torso. He almost opens his mouth to ask what all this is about, but promptly remembers that he needs that oxygen to stay conscious. That and he’s underwater. Wouldn’t make any sense to speak nonsense anyway.

“ _Quiet_.” He thinks he hears, and then he can feel the water shift around them again, like their quaint little world away from everyone is being invaded. The tail tightens its grip around him, coils more completely and it’s suddenly hard to hold the air in. 

There are words, or Genji assumes that it’s words being spoken. All of it just sounds like a crashing stanza on a page of music. Sharps and flats colliding; defensive overtones and aggressive insistence. His heart begins to thunder again, fear and desperation clawing for power in his body. 

He can’t breathe, and Lucio isn’t relenting in his hold. Genji claws desperately at his restraint, but his struggle is quickly silenced when Lucio’s tail adjusts to bind his arms to his chest too now.

Genji’s last breaths escape him in small, panicked bubbles, vision clouding until all he sees is dark nothingness. The music of an argument fades, and he thinks he feels the tide shift again as their unexpected third party vanishes into the deep once more.

His body shudders under the water, no air to sustain his lungs and water doing its best to drown him before his brain can notice. The grip on his body disappears, but his consciousness is too far out of reach.

Genji sinks when Lucio releases him. The sand is soft against his skin, and the world is dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i, schiz, solemnly swear to not take a month to finish and upload a third chapter.  
> not even i would want to leave you in suspense for so long.  
> that'd be cruel. ;3c


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is this the beginning of weekly updates ? only god knows, and she won't tell me.  
> this is the chapter that turns the fic into an M/E-rating. it was a delight to write, though !  
> enjoy, loves.

Everything is cold and wet. His ears are ringing, head pounding. Every muscle aches in a way he hasn’t known in years. His chest hurts the worst, feels like every rib is bruised or cracked; like he’s been beaten to a pulp and every bone reset just to be broken again. 

The groan that rises from cracked lips is a bubble of a noise and he chokes on a mouthful of seawater and blood as it foams across his tongue. Something presses into his side and he hisses, recoiling at the sharp jolt of pain that comes with it. He’s rolled onto his side with much effort from ..whoever else is there. Genji doesn’t have the sense to guess who; he can only focus on the ache in his lungs and the water thick in his throat. His stomach spasms and his chest burns with another bloody cough to expel what he hopes is the last of the unwelcome liquid from his body.

His first breath free of obstruction burns bright white into his veins, pure oxygen a shock to his system that thought it might never know it again. He gasps like a fish out of water, gulping down as much air as he can without spiralling into hyperventilation. 

“Easy.” Rich, careful, chiding. The voice is guarded and defensive but close in his ears. Genji is exhausted, he thinks, and that is why he doesn’t respond in outrage to the siren settled beside him. Instead he shudders and attempts to curl in on himself, pulling away from the creature much to the protest of his body. He doesn’t get very far before he feels those long, dangerous fingers back on his flesh, a firm insistence that he remains laid out as he was before. The touch is searing, one hand on the front of his thigh and the other tracing imaginary designs over his spine. His heart has the audacity to kick into his throat, nerves on end and he scoffs quietly.

“If you keep fidgeting I can’t help.” Genji stubbornly turns his head when Lucio’s fingers drift up to the nape of his neck and ghost along his jaw. He does not want to see the man for fear of.. something. 

“What makes you think I want-”

“It doesn’t matter what you want, Genji.” Lucio’s tone is sharp now, tongue like a blade. “You would be dead if not for me.”

“Wh-” Genji can’t help but laugh, bitter and disbelieving “I was almost dead _because_ of you!” Shouting stresses his lungs in a way that reminds him that breathing is an extremely laborious act right now and he sucks in a sharp breath after. Lucio’s hand is immediately at his sternum and his flesh flares with heat that bleeds past his ribs and into his lungs. It’s eerily comforting and his next breath is slow and measured, none of the pain remaining.

“Right, _almost_ , that’s the point. I didn’t kill you, but if I hadn’t made it look like I was about to, someone else would have.” 

There’s a pause then, Genji’s mind focused solely on the way Lucio’s fingers continue to pour warmth into different parts of his body, each touch dulling his pain to something tolerable. His heart flutters with every gentle glide across his skin and he hopes Lucio doesn’t notice.

Slowly his brain catches up to the conversation at hand. “Someone else?”

“You’re a very pretty face, Genji. A wonderful prize, a perfect catch.” 

Genji twists to look up at the siren now, breath stuttering at the intense focus he finds in those dark eyes. It’s like he’s being seen through rather than looked at. He wants to squirm under Lucio’s gaze, embarrassed and uncertain. 

The man’s lips pull down into a dissatisfied frown suddenly, “I was accused of playing with my food, earlier. Pretty rude of them, actually. I have _some_ table manners.” 

“Lucio.”

The siren’s eyes narrow, focus pulled and rearranged to stare deep into Genji’s eyes now. He doesn’t know if this is better or worse, but can’t seem to look away anymore. “Sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you.” The words sound sincere; Lucio even seems self conscious for a moment before letting his eyes scan back over Genji’s form. When they return they are softer somehow, still dark and menacing but something warm and tender bleeds through them. 

Genji feels himself blush and gapes a little, still unable to tear his eyes away from Lucio’s own. “I-” He realizes that he is shaking, probably has been this whole time. He doesn’t know what to say now, wants to be angry still but has nothing to support the emotion. His traitorous heart chimes in to suggest just simply melting for the creature before him. Rather than dwell on that particularly unhealthy option, Genji finds something separate- simple. 

“Where are we?”

“A cave.”

It’s dark and damp. He can hear the sound of water licking at the sharp edges of rocks around them and there’s a faint draft that slips into the little hideout, rustling his hair into even more of a mess than he imagines it already looks. 

“What are you doing.” Genji asks the question idly now, finding the strength to lift an arm and is shocked to feel no immediate or excruciating pain in response. He stretches it slowly, flexing his fingers to further test the damage and makes a questioning sound when he feels Lucio’s hand grasp at his wrist.

“I was healing you.” The siren says, as if that is explanation enough, and his fingers pour heat into the flesh of his arm to make a point. Now that Genji is a little more conscious of it, he notices first how his nerves flare in confusion before going numb. The limb falls slack in Lucio’s grip for a moment, muscles loose and pliant and Genji gasps, short and breathy when his sense of touch returns and all he can feel is the siren’s skin on his.

The sound seems to trigger something in Lucio, his form going rigid as he holds his breath and immediately drops Genji’s arm from his hold. He recovers quickly, tentatively reaching to splay his fingers back over the flat of Genji’s stomach. A soft hum, just a small sound, makes Genji’s mind swim with music and Lucio’s voice is lost in the swell of the notes.

He thinks he hears his name in there somewhere, but it takes another moment or two for Genji to struggle past the harmony that fogs his thoughts. When he blinks his awareness back to the front of his brain he is met with a questioning look from Lucio. Genji returns it, confused, and opens his mouth to ask what is wrong, or what it is that the siren had asked of him. 

“I asked you if you were.. Okay,” Lucio’s voice is thick and sweet; all well meant concern overpowered by the way his tone has dropped an entire octave, sounding dangerous again. 

“M’fine,” He says, slowly, words slurred together just a bit as he sways under the jumble of sensations. Lucio’s magical presence is overwhelming, but Genji can’t seem to find it frightening in the least. Every bit of the siren is inviting and warm, from the way he speaks to the weight of his gaze and the careful, near reverent touch against his skin.

“Are you still mad?” Lucio asks as if he knows the answer already, and Genji snorts, offended.

“No, but that might have to do with the head trauma not having any oxygen for so long gave me.” The siren withers a little at that, removing his hands from Genji’s body and shifting his gaze. Genji suddenly feels extremely cold again, a chill wracking his form and he reaches immediately for Lucio's hands again. “No, I” He breathes through a brief jolt of pain at his sudden movement, “I’m fine, Lucio. It’s alright. What’s done is done just... don’t do it again maybe. I don’t know if I’d survive a second event like that.”

Lucio’s fingers twitch against his palms and Genji swears he sees a flicker of some incredibly soft emotion through those eyes that have thus far only pierced through him intimately. It’s gone as soon as he notices it, though, and the man is looming over him all of a sudden.

“Lucio..?” 

“Let me make it up to you.” The words tumble out so quickly that Genji can’t think of a proper response other than a slight tilt of his head and a furrowed brow, confused.

“Make it up..? But you already saved my life and-”

“No, for lying.” He slips his fingers out of Genji’s grasp then and lets them glide down the outside of either of his arms, goosebumps trailing behind them. Genji shivers, flush rising back high on his cheeks when Lucio leans even further in, crowding him against the stone beneath them. “May I make it up to you, Genji?” 

“I don’t-” His words are cut short before they even fall from his lips as he remembers Lucio’s hands ghosting across his skin. One finds its way back to his bare stomach, settling as a grounding pressure there while the other drapes dangerous claws against the base of his throat. Genji has to remember to breathe, pulse thrumming so frantic in his veins that there’s no way Lucio doesn’t notice.

Another soft hum rises from the siren, but this time there is no music to cloud his decision and Genji swallows hard, nodding carefully, “Yes, _ah-_ ” His voice breaks off into another breathy sound as he feels that same warmth from earlier pour from Lucio’s fingertips. 

The sound seems to spur the siren further as his magic seeps right in under Genji’s skin, the sensation almost searing. Genji fidgets under the attention, a hand drifting to clutch at Lucio’s shoulder, the other flying up to try and stifle a sudden, ragged sound that catches on his tongue at the warmth flooding his abdomen. His hips twitch up into nothing and his face his hot with embarrassment at the high keen that bubbles up from the back of his throat when Lucio’s hand dips lower only to skirt his fiery touch to the jut of Genji’s hip, thumb rubbing measured circles along the line of muscle that disappears into his swim trunks.

“L-Lucio,” Genji moans the name from between shaky fingers, his effort to maintain his own dignity falling to pieces faster than he imagined it might. 

“You sound so beautiful, Genji,” Lucio’s voice is dark again, sensual in a way that drags pleasure down his spine to mix with the heat already gathering low in his gut. “I could devour you just like this.” He groans, leaning in to brush soft lips against the back of Genji’s knuckles where they fail to contain the soft little noises each pulse of magic pulls from him. He moves his head lower still and bares his teeth against Genji’s neck, dragging thin red lines into the previously unmarred skin.

There’s a jolt of fear at the feel of them, looming, dangerous. Genji imagines for a moment what it might feel like to have them sink into the flesh of his shoulder and bare down. The thought makes his dick twitch, achingly hard in his trunks and pointedly ignored. Lucio fails to oblige his deadly fantasy and mouths carefully along the column of his neck, lips and tongue working a pretty bruise right over where his pulse is the warmest. He moans again, lips parting to ask for what he wants or thinks he needs but his lungs are still rough from before and all he can manage are shaky inhales in between broken pleas of Lucio’s name on his tongue.

The siren is mischievous, perhaps, but not cruel, and he catches the broken sob caused by his next push of magic with his lips on Genji’s now. Their mouths move against each other slowly before Lucio dares to lick his way past the seam of Genji’s lips. They both taste like saltwater, but there’s something else, something light and sweet in how Genji tastes. It was there earlier, too, and Lucio wonders distantly if it is just natural or if maybe it was simply something he had eaten.

Genji pulls away after perhaps a bit too long, lungs burning, and turns his face into the hand that had come to cup his jaw in the midst of their kiss. “ _Please_.” He begs, voice wobbly and raw. His body is shaking again, every nerve on edge as the heat that falls into him from Lucio’s fingers folds into his deepest parts. He’s hot, sweating and tense and _so close_ to the edge. 

“Please, what?” Or maybe Lucio is cruel, his magic pooling over Genji’s skin now like a blanket, warm and tingling and so very much not enough. Not what Genji wants or needs but he can’t seem to form a thought whole enough to ask for more. He knocks his head back against the stone, eyes pricking with tears as the sensations running through and over him are simultaneously too much and not enough.

Lucio’s hands settle at either of Genji’s hips now and he busies himself with pressing a flurry of kisses over his neck and chest, teeth catching at a nipple to lavish with sweet attention. He wants to send his catch back to town in such a state that no one could guess that he’d almost died, and no one would believe he hadn’t been made a meal of. His fingers press bruises back into healed flesh and Lucio hums at the frantic way Genji clings to his shoulders, jaw slack and eyes blown wide in pleasure.

“If you can’t tell me what, we’ll just have to stick to my way.” He teases, voice dripping with such poisonous intent that Genji thinks his heart stops for a couple seconds before he feels it. 

The heat that flows from Lucio’s hands this time is wrapped in electricity. It dances around his veins, wraps itself around his bones and settles full and overwhelming along his spine. He hears music again, deafeningly loud in his ears but no one is speaking. Genji’s back arches up off the ground completely, Lucio’s bruising grip on his hips the only thing keeping him pinned to the rock they’d settled on as his orgasm wracks through him head to toe. 

“God, _Luci_ \- Lucio please, _ah_ -” He babbles on, sobbing now as he comes down from the peak. Lucio is there to meet him as he falls slack again, kissing away the tears that slip free. Genji is boneless in his arms, eyelids heavy and breathing ragged. He paws weakly at Lucio’s bicep as the siren hefts his body up into a bridal-style hold and relishes in the delighted chuckle he gets in response from the man.

“Y-You’re the absolute... _worst_.” Genji’s words have no bite to them, more worried about the state of his swimwear and whether this counts as coming untouched- something he’s never been capable of before. He figures he might as well use this once in a lifetime event to check that off his bucket list.

“So do you forgive me?” Lucio’s voice is muffled slightly by the way he nuzzles his face against the pretty line of Genji’s neck, appreciating the marks he’d left there and considering adding more.

“Huh?”

“I was asking if I’d earned your forgiveness.”

“Wh- yes, it’s fine.”

“Just fine? I thought I’d be amazing with the way you were beg-” Lucio is immediately shushed by the palm of Genji’s hand pressing against his face, shoving him back and away.

“Sh-Shut up.” He doesn't stutter. He is not blushing. It is just very hot in this cold, wet cave filled with the very clear smell of his sweat and spend suddenly. Which, okay, now he’s definitely beet red again and he buries his face in his hands, curling in on himself in Lucio’s hold.

“Oh god what am I supposed to tell the others.”

“That you went on a thrilling adventure with one of the locals. Had the time of your life.” Lucio is purring, all self satisfaction and preening at the thought of being the cause of Genji’s inevitable interrogation by his peers. Clearly shame is not an emotion he wears often, if ever at all.

“Speaking of which, you should probably get back. Y’know, before today becomes tomorrow.” Lucio’s tail slaps the water where it’s still partially submerged and he adjusts Genji in his lap so that he’s no longer capable of folding himself into the fetal position and can only just sit there. “Do you want me to carry you all the way back, princess?”

Genji glares at Lucio now, or he tries his best. He swears that it must be magic that makes it so all he can do is look at the siren in awe or admiration. The man is too pretty for Genji’s still frail heart to take and he looks away again, doing his best to avoid looking too interested while already sitting in Lucio’s lap, wrapped in a tender embrace. “Yes, actually. Add it to the ‘make it up to Genji’ counter.”

Lucio laughs for real at that, full and rich and wholesome and Genji melts into the strong arms that hold him firm. The rush of water around his waist as the siren drags him in to take him back to shore is a shock, but something about drifting atop the water like he’s on a float (just… far faster) is oddly soothing. He doesn’t dare break the peaceful quiet that settles between them, even when they approach a familiar shoreline and Lucio prompts him to slide up and out of his hold to stand on his own in the water.

He’s knee deep again here, Lucio pacing back and forth less than a meter away, watching. The moon has replaced the sun but the sky is as clear as it ever is, the beach made bright by a splattering of stars in the night. When he looks up he thinks he can make out the Delphinus constellation, ignores what seeing it right now could mean, and turns his gaze back to a rather fidgety siren.

“Thank you, by the way. For saving me, almost killing me, and..” He trails off, averting his eyes to stare at an empty shell half buried in the sand next to his right foot.

“And for an amazing orgasm? You’re very welcome.” Genji pretends he didn’t hear that, and instead takes three measured steps forward back into the water until the wakes lick at his ribs. Lucio drifts forward at the unspoken request in Genji’s eyes, and smiles softly. It’s just a tiny quirk at the corner of his lips but it’s enough to make Genji weak all over again. He doesn’t think about it, and simply does what his mind says he really wants to.

This kiss is light and sweet, so chaste it could be mistaken as just a coincidental brush of their lips together, but Genji lingers, presses in to deepen it for just a moment. Lucio lets him take the lead, melts into the soft contact and hums something beautiful when Genji pulls back.

“I’d like to see you again. Maybe you could give me more to thank you for.” Genji’s voice is a whisper in the night, and he must be satisfied with the way he catches Lucio off guard because he straightens up and back away again, further and further toward the shore until he is no longer in the water, his feet sinking damp into dry sand now. 

Lucio breathes in deep as he watches him go, dives backward into the water and drifts toward the deep. When he swims down into the dark depths below, he finds himself thinking of proper courting, and of the soft crinkle of Genji’s nose when he smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmm, i think.... _one_ more chapter is on its way. need a suffocatingly cute end to it all, don't we?  
> seeya next week hopefully! <3


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